Magneto-resistive elements are well known in the art for use in magnetic disk drives. Recent advances in magnetic recording technology have provided magnetic heads using giant magneto-resistive (GMR) technology; see, for example, "Giant Magnetoresistance: A Primer," by Robert White, IEEE Transactions On Magnetics, Vol. 28, No. 5, September 1992, incorporated herein by reference. GMR heads may be manufactured to be about 5 times as sensitive to magnetic fields as conventional magneto resistive heads. GMR technology has also been incorporated with Spin-Valve structures that are well known in the art.
Magneto-optical (MO) media includes data bits written as up or down magnetic domains perpendicular to the surface of the media. In prior art MO disk drives, data is read as a clockwise or counter-clockwise rotation imposed on a reflected polarized laser light by the up or down orientations of the domains. The polarization rotation information requires an optical readout means for detection of the rotated polarized light. In the prior art, the means for readout includes a plurality of bulky and complex optical elements located on a magneto-optical head (U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,122). In the prior art, the optical elements typically degrade the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the information conveyed by the polarization rotation before readout as an electronic signal. The prior art optical elements also contribute to the mass of the magneto-optical head and to the complexity of the alignment between the optical elements.
What is needed therefore is an apparatus that provides improved SNR readout for data stored with MO media and reduced mass and size of the associated magneto-optical head.